Mike Hartsfield interview, part 2

Promo video for MEXPW, Mike Hartsfield's new wresting company

What is the current status of Outspoken?

I'd say we are in a holding pattern, everyone is busy with other stuff. I'd say we are on pause.


How would you personally rate the recent Outspoken shows with singer/frontman Wes Sisk? Not just performance-wise but reaction-wise as well?

We all had a blast. From everything I heard, people enjoyed it. Anytime a venue has a barricade it inhibits crowd reaction, but we were still able to enjoy ourselves. Wes is a heart throb.


A18 has played a few shows here and there in the past few years. Are there any plans for that band to record again? Why or why not?

No, We're just past that point. We broke up in '06 and played a few benefit shows and just small get-togethers over the years. We played a few weeks ago with Hellfire Trigger for a going away party for Nicholas (our guitarist and sometimes bassist) and we all decided that was pretty much it for the A18.


Is there any possibility of a Freewill reunion at some point? Why or why not?

None of us have ever talked about it (or at least none of them mentioned it to me). It would be a lot of fun but we were a VERY obscure band. I miss those guys tremendously. When I was in the band, I didn't appreciate it like I think I should have. I look back on the recording we did for Wishingwell Records as a huge deal for us. There's not too much more you need to do at age 18 than record an album for your favorite record label. It was amazing then. I wouldn't be against a reunion but I just don't think anyone would be all that interested.


What is the current status of New Age Records?

Gearing up to shut our doors in 2012. Repressing the Trial 7" (working on that now) and clearing out the webstore in the next few months.


There have been lots and lots of hardcore reunion shows throughout the '00s and in the past two years. What have been some of your favorites and why?

Anyone that gets together for friends, fun or a cause is all good in my book. No For An Answer was the tops. Chorus always, Headfirst, ICE and Mean Season in 2005 was incredible.


Discuss in detail your new wrestling company, MEXPW.

It's a company that I formed this year along with a partner and we are running live events in the U.S. and in Mexico. We are set to debut in January 2012 in Los Angeles. I have been in the business in one way or another for a very long time. I am working now with venues, wrestlers, merchandising, advertising. promotions, etc. and am hoping soon to be stepping into the world of TV and pay per view.


How will this new wrestling company differ from previous wrestling companies that you've been involved with?

That's a good one. Hopefully, this one can keep it's head above water. I'm hoping that by closely managing the whole thing, we can make the right decisions and stay on corse.


Generally speaking, how has the wrestling industry fared during the economic recession in America?

It's down but I think a bigger factor is that there are more and more forms of live entertainment every year and in California, with all the options that people have, we really have to create and maintain something interesting and exciting.


After she turns 18, how would you feel about your daughter pursuing a career in some capacity in the wrestling industry if she wanted to?

Hahaha. I'd encourage her to be on the production side but if it turns out that she wanted to actually train to be a wrestler, I guess I'd have to support her there as well.

Remission - Isolation t-shirts from their 2011 U.S. Tour now available

http://remissionhc.bigcartel.com/product/isolation-t-shirt-r-records

Cornered: European Hardcore

Last month, I went out to see Take Offense play (if you haven't seen them yet, do it, they tore the roof off of the place) and found out that a few bands on the tour were from Europe. I always try to show support to bands on tour, especially when they are from another country. Both bands shared members (Cornered and New Morality) and I took the time to talk to the guys. Niels, the singer for Cornered, told me that he and the other guys check us regularly (thanks guys) and asked if we could post a link to their newest recording for them. So here it is, the newest offering from Cornered. If they come back to the US and you get a chance to check them out, do so. You won't be disappointed

http://www.mediafire.com/?chkoc7oh1cpgtut

You can also "Like" them on Facebook and keep up with what's happening on their end by clicking here: Cornered on Facebook

Damnation AD Interview: No Reason Zine, #4 1997

Here's an interview with Damnation AD from No Reason Zine, #4. I saw Mike last month and asked about the Cure record they had rumored to be recording...looks like there might be some truth to this. Ill get more info for you guys soon but until then, here's the interview.

Orange County Hardcore Scenester trailer #1 video

http://www.facebook.com/ochardcorescenester

http://anhedeniafilms.com/

Culture Discography to be released in early 2012

(Photo from Alex's Culture Myspace Page)

I just received a message from Jamie, head of the label American Enemy Inc., letting me know that he will be releasing the Culture discography on both CD and vinyl in early 2012. He just finalized the deal with former Culture member Rich Thurston yesterday and they've already gone forward with remastering the band's catalog. Here's a statement from Rich on the upcoming discography:

"CULTURE was and always will be one of my proudest achievements. We weren't the most popular. We didn't get on the cool big labels of the time. We didn't play a tons of shows. Given all that I think we helped define a genre as well as influence bands with like minded goals in the mid to late 90s. Working on this discography brings back so many memories and yeah even some regrets. I am so happy and proud that all of the songs we worked so hard on and believed in will be put together on one release. Its my crowning accomplishment."

The layout is being handled by Damien Moyal and is already in the process of being put together. Order information will be posted in the near future so until then, follow American Enemy Inc on Facebook to keep up to date with the release.

"Veganism: From Black Metal to Hip-Hop and Everything in Between" panel videos

Panelists include Kevin Tillman, Vegan Black Metal Chef (Brian Manowitz), Larry Brady and Greg Bennick. For more information, please visit Vegan Score.

Casa De Diversion Vol. 2

Toxic Breed has just released Vol. 2 of their Casa De Diversion compilation series.

Tracklist:

1. Disapproval- Intro/Detached From Birth

2. Villain- Debt Nation ft COA

3. Raindance- Severed Wings and Open Wounds

4. Bottom Out- Home

5. Pulling Teeth- Waiting

6. Axis- Atlas

7. Born Low- Two-fold

8. Goodbye Cruel World- Better Off Dead

9. Written Off- Reiterator

10. Unrestrained- Disdain

11. Power Trip- Suffer No Fool

12. Agitator- Force Fed Lies

13. Sabertooth Zombie- Banana Milk

14. The Love Below- High Friends In Low Places

15. Coke Bust- Another Fucking Problem

16. Another Mistake- Crust Fund

17. Social War- 28 Days Later

18. Sojourner- Deception Falls

19. Legion- Salvation

20. Hatewaves- Pride

21. At Our Heels- Wolfsblood

22. Old Wounds- Terror Eyes

23. Fed To The Wolves- Disappointment

24. Sacred Love- Riot Dogs (Molon Lave)

25. Crucified- Dead Of Sleep

26. Code Orange Kids- Walls (We Lose Each Other)

27. Homewrecker- Internal Morgue

28. Divider- Glory of Kings

29. Masakari- IX- Tempt Providence

30. Low Places- Honor Thee Cult

31. Streetsweeper- Place Of Fear

32. Vice- Vice

33. Alaskan- Euthanize

34. Deathbed- Cleanse

35. Jungle Juice- Blind 

 

It can be downloaded through mediafire:

http://www.mediafire.com/?9xcsth58tndldcs

Or streamed through the Band Camp page:

http://casadediversion.bandcamp.com/album/vol-2

Greg Bennick (Trial, Between Earth & Sky, One Hundred For Haiti) interview

As a singer/frontman and a songwriter, who/what are some of your influences and why?

GREG: I find that I am influenced by people from so many different sources. Lou Reed's New York album was a huge influence on me, and obviously not hardcore related. In the liner notes to that record, he wrote that the record was meant to be listened to in one sitting as if it was a book or a movie. And that's what I brought to my contribution to the Trial - Are These Our Lives? record. I wanted it to be the same way, though maybe with slightly more intense music than Lou Reed's. And that's arguable. He can take guitar, bass and drums and make them sound like they need nothing else ever. Other influences: Behemoth for their sheer intensity and ability to play like they do. Listen to their Evangelion album. If you can't appreciate its speed and/or intensity, then we can't be friends. I also was inspired and influenced by Catharsis' Samsara album. That record is just relentless creatively, politically, socially, personally and psychologically. More than anything else, I am influenced by individuals, specifically those who have suffered and survived, or suffered and died. I spend a lot of time processing and thinking and feeling with people about what their experiences in life have been with the things they've faced. Our capacity to feel is astounding, and our ability to survive in the face of suffering is even more astounding. I remember standing at Birkenau near Auschwitz in the middle of the camp at Birkenau and just taking a breath in trying to imagine all of what happened there. I have been there many times over the years. And just letting all of that history sink in, the individuals, their fears and pain, their hopes and survival, and their loss, sometimes even the loss of themselves. Thats ten albums worth of inspiration for art and creation right there in one deep breath. And beyond the historical, one on one interactions with people - people with courage and sincerity - about their lives and mine, and the things they have had to face and work with and endure. That's where the real inspiration is found to live more fully and then to transform that sense of living into the creation of art.

In this video, Unrestrained singer/frontman and xStuck In The Pastx co-owner/co-manager Justin Sitner, among others, says that his favorite hardcore band is Trial. What do you think it is it about Trial that appeals to so many people?

GREG: It might be something to do with our dashing good looks, quick wit, and limitless charm. But since few of these things appeal to Justin, I would suggest that - other than the rifftastic jams unleashed by Timm McIntosh, that there is a sincerity to the band that appeals to people because we present ideas and feelings - and i mean that we do that musically as well as lyrically - that reflect what is happening within their own hearts and minds. The bands that tend to impact me do the same thing. Take a band like Into Another for example. The lyrics just go so far beyond most other music in my iTunes: just deeply emotionally clear and direct and I feel like they were written by me for me. Thats when a band really reaches people... when they feel like the songs were written by them, for them. Because ultimately in terms of Trial, the songs were written for them, at least with that amount of connection and devotion. I am deeply honored when anyone says that we are their favorite band. Your very own Justin and I were hanging out in Portland when we first met. And I was making conversation, and asked him "So, who are your favorite hardcore band?" He stopped for a second, held up his arm - which has a full sleeve Trial tattoo - and looked at me like I was a total idiot. Point taken. And FYI: Justin also likes Behemoth, so we know his tastes in music are solid.


What are some of your favorite Trial songs/records and why?

GREG: Are These Our Lives? has definitely stood the text of time for me. And that was the test and challenge: when I was writing the lyrics my challenge to myself was to write them so that I would be able to stand behind them when I was 90 years old not just 30 years old. I wanted something so long lasting that I wouldn't look back on it as historical or with nostalgia, but rather as an ongoing representation of current truths. I still feel in my mind and heart every word on that record, every note of the music. It all works together and I love it still. A part of loving that record is remembering the recording sessions and how Brian Redman was so supportive of me during that time. For those who don't know, Brian was our bassist and he died two years ago in a moped accident. I am still in shock from that. But before the studio, I had gone a year without singing because I had lost my voice. I trained vocally for a year with an opera coach, and never once raised my voice that year in order to protect my vocal cords. When we got to the studio, no one knew what was going to happen and whether or not the vocals were even going to work. I got behind the microphone and anticipation was very high. A year before I had no voice: what was going to happen now? We decided to try "An Awakening" first, and the first take, the first moment back vocally after a year, is what you hear on the record. I remember launching into that first line "Are we the dead?" and looking through the control room window and Brian just threw his arms above his head and had this wide eyed look on his face like "YES!!!!!!!!" It brings tears to my eyes thinking about it now because it was such a moment of triumphant victory. I miss him so goddamn much. But in that moment we all knew that we were going to have a record, and possibly a great one. In terms of the earlier songs, "In Closing" always meant so much to me and still does. It was always a rager and we never play it. Its almost like we forgot about it along the way.


Discuss your most recent band/project, Between Earth & Sky.

GREG: Between Earth & Sky is a new hardcore band from Vancouver BC and Seattle that really isn't that new. The band - Sean Lande (By a Thread, Strain), Happy Kreter (Gob, Burden), and recording engineer Blair Calibaba and I - formed over eleven years ago as best friends who wanted to simply release a CD together that we had collaborated on. This summer that dream became reality. The goal with the band was to explore the psychology of suffering and examine our lives for what they ultimately are: hopeless and doomed. This isn't intended to sound negative but rather realistic. Ultimately we're all food for worms, but what we do in the midst of that fact, how we love, the ways we live, how we interact, are really what matter. A hundred years from now I am going to be a skeleton. But until then, I take every second to kiss with conviction, live with passion, and feel as deeply as I can. Live as if you are made of gunpowder and a fuse has been lit nearby leading to you. You are explosion and anticipation all at once, so fulfill that responsibility. Between Earth & Sky is about what that process feels like. Our new CD, entitled Of Roots and Wings, is available now on Refuse Records from Europe (http://refuserecords.prv.pl/) as a CD and 12"ep and it will be released in the USA as a double 7" on Hellfish Records (http://www.hellfishfamily.com) later in 2011. You can hear more from the band including a song from the EP by visiting our site on the worldwide internet web at http://www.betweenearthandsky.com




You are both vegan and Straight Edge. Has it been difficult for you to maintain either or both as you've gotten older? If so, in what way(s)? If not, why not?

GREG: It is easier than ever to be vegan. I think back to twenty years ago and what it was like being vegan then, at a time when there was only one restaurant in Seattle that had a completely vegan menu. And then fast forward to now when there are a dozen. Or in Portland Oregon, the vegan Mecca of the world, where there are fifty or more. And you talk to people who were around even before that, like Richie Birkenhead from Into Another / Underdog, and he tells stories of being on tour with Youth of Today in the late 80's and hoping that his container of soymilk would last from NYC all the way to Los Angeles because there wasn't anywhere to buy another one. Its so easy to be vegan now, and people who use the excuse that its too hard to be vegan just need to be shown how easy it is and how many options are available.

As for being Straight Edge, it's easy too - when people offer you alcohol, you reply that you'd rather have something else. And when you are on your own, don't drink. Not too tricky. (I am typing this while listening to one of my current favorite hardcore songs which happens to be a great song about the 'edge: "Above the Influence" by Betrayed) I actually don't mind if people drink occasionally. I don't hate alcohol, just the people who let it take control of their lives at the expense of others. It doesn't affect me as long as people aren't being selfishly stupid or they aren't driving. Drunk drivers should be stopped by any means necessary, and you can use your imagination as you choose to decide what the limits of that are. Drunk drivers are like people shooting bullets into crowds of innocent people. If someone had a gun and was shooting it in a public place, you'd do anything to stop them wouldn't you? Yet we condone people being buzzed and driving. I have no sympathy whatsoever for what happens to drunk drivers and actually support creative direct action to stop them. But back to the point I wanted to make: drinking itself or not drinking is irrelevant really. Happy from Between Earth & sky worded it best. He was speaking in an interview about how not drinking is irrelevant in a way: bring straightedge he suggested isnt a triumphant end goal, but rather brings you to a point of zero essentially and what really matters isn't whether or not you drink, its what you actually do with this newfound clarity. I back that. In terms of my own life, as time has gone on, I find that its easy to not be drinking in social situations where everyone else is drinking. I used to feel awkward about it sometimes but I don't anymore. If the only thing that bound me to the people I spent time with is alcohol, then my thought is that I would need new friends, not new things to drink. I don't need alcohol to free my inhibitions. I spent a few years in a relationship with an alcoholic and seeing the effect that her drinking had on her family and friends was enough to remind me of how alcohol can ruin everything. When one's family members are feeling neglected and emotionally abandoned, or one's ability to communicate with loved ones is affected, it shows where your real priorities are. My dear friend Mike has a screen name that says it all: walkxaway. That is my mantra in situations like that now. And yes, when you say it, you pronounce the x.

How long have you been vegan and how long have you been Straight Edge?

GREG: I committed to being vegan in July of 1991 after being vegetarian for three years and dabbling in being vegan before that. And I quit drinking and drugs on September 30th 1988.


What is your view of Straight Edge hardcore bands whose core members are no longer Straight Edge, particularly those bands who reunite either for the short or long haul?

GREG: For me - in situations like that - its about the singers. They are the communicators of the message, which isn't to take any value from any other band member in any other situation. But in the specific situation you are describing: where a band who had been all straightedge reunite without that commitment still intact, for me if the singer is still straightedge, then I can get somewhat behind their reunion, playing, etc, though more for nostalgia sake than anything else. But take a band like Strife for example on the other side of the coin. They built their entire existence on the fact that they were straightedge and claimed (in my opinion immaturely so but whatever) that there was only "one" truth. Then almost all of them betrayed their fans, supporters, and their own integrity by selling out. I guess people who come to their shows now are there because they like to just scream words, regardless of the meaning behind those words. Not the way I'd like to spend my time, but if people are into screaming, rock on.


As I mentioned in a previous interview, for better or worse (mostly worse, I know), I'm a lifelong red meat 'n cheesy potatoes man. However, I'm also a staunch supporter of animal rights and the very proud caretaker of 3 rescue dogs, so needless to say, I'm interested in at least learning more about veganism. Being as how you're one of the most respected authorities in the hardcore scene on all things vegan, please give the laypeople (like me) reading this a brief and non-Googled description of veganism.

GREG: I am glad you want to learn more about being vegan, but I need to say that if I am one of the most respected authorities in the hardcore scene on all things vegan, people have an even more corrupted relationship with and perspective on authority than I thought they did. The real authorities are people like Anika from Seattle Vegan Score (http://www.veganscore.com) who is actively involved with exploring options for vegans in the Seattle area and trying new products all the time. Seek her out for advice on all things vegan. Here is the description and definition that you wanted though: vegans only eat and wear things that are not animal derived. For you, that means you would be eating fake meat and vegan cheesy potatoes. There are countless delicious things to eat as a vegan. But taste and compassion aren't the only reasons to go vegan. Being vegan also makes you better at chess. It leads to higher scores on at least eleven different videogames. As a vegan, you will be able to climb trees faster, predict the end of boring movies so that you can turn them off and watch something else, and will be able to drink soda without even opening the can. As a vegan you get to date far more beautiful people because you yourself become a far more beautiful person. And you will be able to type so fast that emails get sent before you even hit "reply". But it doesn't end there. Being vegan increases your chances of winning the lottery by 43%. It makes you able to listen to black metal for hours without going insane. It makes it possible to literally walk between raindrops. And it means that you will be able to understand languages you don't speak, even while you are sleeping, which you likely won't need to ever do again because of the energy you'll have. All of this doesn't even yet mention the increases that you'll notice in your ability to throw and catch javelins, run as fast as a car, and do spontaneous backflips to impress and entertain the elderly. At the core, veganism might seem to be about not eating or wearing animal products, but ultimately its really just about being more awesome.

Is it at all hypocritical or, at the very least, a conflict of interests for one to be both a meat eater and pro-animal rights? Why or why not?

GREG: Yes, it is. Both hypocritical and a conflict of interests. But, and I say this without taking away from the fact that I think you should go vegan (did I mention that being vegan makes it likely that you will get signed to the NHL as a professional hockey player, befriend a gazelle, and discover buried treasure?), I feel that its impossible to live without conflict of interests in our culture. Again, I want you to go vegan but that isn't so that you wil be free of conflicts of interests. Its so that you can live with less conflicts in your interests. And not you necessarily, but everyone. I like the idea of decreasing the things we do that are destructive to others and to animals and to the world. Case in point, I am writing this interview on a plane while burning more fuel and contributing to the destruction of the earth far more than I would be had I walked home from Denver to Seattle today. But because I live in this culture, I wouldn't have thought about walking. When we make convenience the rule, there is a substantial price to pay for what we save.

Normally, I allow people that I interview to shamelessly plug their other musical or non-musical endeavors at the end of the interviews. In your case, however, I'd like for you to briefly discuss all of your many other endeavors that you would like to talk about publicly.

GREG: A couple things: One Hundred For Haiti (http://www.onehundredforhaiti.org) is the charity I founded and work on still with a global network of friends and supporters,creating sustainable development projects and real economic results for the people of Haiti. Go to the website, our youtube channel (100forhaiti) or email / facebook us anytime to find out more. I am really excited about the upcoming Trial European tour, the dates of which can be found here (http://tinyurl.com/trialeurope). And anyone who has questions about anything I brought up in this interview can be in touch anytime by way of the all-knowing website of ultimate power and data mining, Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gregbennick


What else would you like to do that you haven't already done and why?

GREG: That one's easy. 1. Write and release a Between Earth & Sky full length CD (because I want there to be a more definitive statement from the band). 2. Make the phad thai recipe from the first episode of the Vegan Black Metal Chef YouTube video series (because I want to cut the tofu, turn the plate, cut the tofu, turn the plate, with a knife that IS that awesome). 3. Write a book (because I have about nine books floating around in my head all day long and my brain will explode if I don't get started soon). 4. Help support Haiti (because they need it and because I am their neighbor and I live in the country largely responsible for their annihilation and lack of stability). And 5. Convince you to go vegan. (Because I want to see you be able to skydive without parachutes, win the gold medal on the balance beam, and build furniture, all of which is inevitable when you switch to a vegan diet).

Earthmover Leftover Reunion Merch

Andy Dempz, guitar player for Earthmover, hit me the other day to let me know that there is still some leftover merch from their reunion show in Chicago earlier this year. They've set up a Big Cartel store and are ready to ship so scoop these up before they're gone. He also sent me footage of them opening up their set...looks straight out of a Slayer show. If you view the video on Youtube, you can also see footage from their Detroit reunion show.

Earthmover Leftover Merch from Chicago